This is was used to be hard. I rarely listen to Heavy Metal or Old School Heavy True Metal, whatever they want to call it. I enjoy the odd Iron Maiden or Judas Priest song, but I cannot bring myself around to listening to an entire album. Which is why, when I met the lads in Hamburg on the day of their second gig on their “In For The Kill” tour in Europe, I was sure I would be handling the merchandise after listening to a couple of songs of theirs. I could not have been wronger. I”ve watched Kryptos about a gazillion times before and never before have I enjoyed a show of theirs as much. Not just because they’re really tight and energetic, but because the new material is, simply put, in your face. If you’ve watched the new material being played live, you’ll know what I’m talking about. (If you haven’t, wel then push yourself to go watch them the next time around, you lazy bums!). That was when I was quite sure that this was an album I would want to review if Madhav, the more Old School between the two of us at HBI, was willing to let me.
Burn Up The Night is Kryptos‘ fourth offering and it is quite phenomenal. Kryptos sounds much better than they ever have, on this record. The band showed signs of evolving in Coils of Apollyon and in this album, they take it up a notch. From 10 to 11. I am a sucker for fuzzy guitars and this album gives me that. Love me some fuzz. Ok, there isn’t that much fuzz. Just the right amount of fuzz. I love saying fuzz. What strikes me the most about this album is how much of a difference Anthony has been on the drums and how underrated Rohit has been on the guitars all these years. Ganesh’s bass tone is incredible and perfect for the overall feel of this album. Nolan’s vocal effort binds this album together when Rohit’s solos are not doing the talking. Personally, I prefer Nolan’s vocals over most of the thrash metal vocalists around. OK, may be not over Mille Petrozza.
The tempo in the album varies, which appeals to me. Some songs are meaty and fast, some have more of a slow, impending doom feeling to it. Each song is a treat in itself. I thoroughly enjoyed One Shot To Kill and The Summoning, which, as testament to my previous statement, happen to be quite different from each other. The former is quite speedy and thrashy whilst the latter is slower but does not lack in terms of power delivered. As an album opener, I wouldn’t have chosen any other song other than Blackstar Horizon and to end the album, the title track is perfect. This album is filled with solos that scream so loud that you cannot forget or ignore them. The riffs are so sharp, they’d put Gillette’s latest offerings to shame. I am however, not a big fan of songs fading away at the end. I look forward to songs having an ending and not trailing off into silence. When there is a really sweet whirlwind solo going on in Full Throttle or the vocals in Blackstar Horizon, fading away isn’t really satisfying. But then, that’s just me, I guess, considering I almost never nitpick on such trivial issues in Death/Prog Metal.
Do I have any other complaints about this album? Oh well, since I’m really scouring, I would’ve liked the drums a tad bit louder. They are definitely not subdued. Nothing that would stop me from imploring you to buy this album and enjoy it as much as I did. As heavy as this album sounds when played on my speaker or headphones, it sounds massive live. If 80’s heavy metal needed reviving, this album would certainly help. As one of India’s premier metal acts, if not the top metal act, Kryptos delivers. Paired with the lively stage performers that they have become, it is a cracker. A prescription for Slayerneck (as the Swedes would say), Burn Up The Night is delightful. Buy it. Devour it.